Coinciding with its sixth award ceremony, the Fondation Carmignac will be exhibiting works from all years of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award at the Saatchi Gallery in London from 18 November – 13 December. This unique retrospective will showcase a total of 40 images produced by emerging and established photojournalists since the award’s inception in 2009, providing a dynamic survey of works by six prize recipients.
Exhibition highlights include images by previous winner, Iranian photographer Newsha Tavokalian, whose work has since been exhibited at the Venice Biennale. Tavokalian was selected for her piece Blank Pages of an Iranian Photo Album, a series of photos and videos that blurs the lines between journalism, contemporary art and activism. The project looks at the lives of young middle class Iranians and the tensions they face living with the consequences of both the Islamic Revolution of the 1970s and modern globalised society, and has been met with acclaim internationally for the issues it raises.
The award sheds light on works that document some of the most dangerous and conflict-torn regions of the world, with Gaza, Pashtunistan, Zimbabwe and Chechnya, being the focus of many featured images. Intended to support emerging photographers with a fund of 50,000€, it finances practitioners’ visits to these areas of conflict and facilitates the production and exhibition of photographs upon their return.
This year, the prize (and sixth award) engages with global issues of conflict within French terrorities, raising questions of the role of activism and photojournalism in seemingly peaceful areas of the world. Winner of the 2015 competition, Christopher Gin, will introduce his series about Guiana, Colonie (Colony) with one photograph. Working to the theme of Lawless Areas in France, his black and white photographs investigate the idea of highly hermetic societies.
As a whole, the competition and its first retrospective will provide audiences with an broad example of the important and radical role that photojournalism plays in the art world today through the work of Tavokalian and Gin, as well as fellow prize recipients, Davide Monteleone, Robin Hammond and Massimo Berruti.
Carmignac Photojournalism Award: A Retrospective, 18 November – 13 December, Saatchi Gallery, London.
Find out more at www.fondation-carmignac.com.
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Credits
1. Newsha Tavakolian, Portrait of Somayyeh, 2015. Copyright of the artist. Courtesy of Fondation Carmignac.